The Movie Star's Designer Baby: A BWWM Pregnancy Romance (4 page)

“Even the stuff about Anicka Andersen?”

“Well, maybe not
all
of it. The part about finding me in bed with another man, totally not true.”

“I should hope not.”

“It was actually two men.”

“That sounds more like it,” Gracie laughed and shoved him playfully.

“Hey watch it,” he said, raising his hands as if to defend himself. “I hear you’re a black belt in Karate.”

“Brown belt,” she corrected, “but I could still show you a thing or two.” She made as if to lunge at him and he grabbed her in his arms. For a moment they were nose-to-nose, within kissing distance. Gracie lowered her eyes shyly, and the spell was broken.

“Come on,” Derrick said, “we better get inside. Gladys will throw a fit if we’re late for dinner.”

Inside they had a pleasant dinner of roast pheasant and with wild mushroom stuffing and butternut squash. Gracie declared the meal delicious and ate with gusto, a welcome change from Anicka’s carb-counting ways. Derrick wondered where she was putting it all; as far as he could see there wasn’t an ounce of fat on her body. They ended up talking until well after midnight. When Gracie gave a hearty yawn, Derrick realized he had kept her awake far too long.

“You’ll have to forgive me,” he said, “I was having such a good time I forgot that you’ve been on a cross-country flight today.”

“I am a little sleepy,” she admitted, then quickly added, “but not
too
sleepy.”

Derrick helped her to her feet and escorted her up the stairs and to her bedroom. At the doorway he stopped. This would be the time now. He should go in, undress her and make love to her. Wham, bam, thank you ma’am. That was the point of it all right? What was it Gracie had said?
Natural selection. Like animals.
But looking at this fascinating woman who was nearly dead on her feet, something didn’t feel right. He could imagine himself making love to her for hours on end, exploring every inch of her tender body, taking his time to deeply penetrate and release his seed inside her. After over a year of planning and preparation, he suddenly didn’t want to do it like animals.

He bent his head and kissed her gently on the lips. She received the kiss hungrily, with an open mouth. But before he could let himself get carried away, Derrick broke the kiss and took Gracie’s face in his hands.

“Get some sleep,” he said, “I’ll see you in the morning.”

He left a confused Gracie standing in her doorway and turned to head to his own bedroom alone.

Chapter Four

Gracie slept lightly with images of Derrick floating through her dreams. The day had gone nothing like she’d expected. She’d arrived ready for business, but ended up feeling like a contestant on
The Bachelor
. Except for in this game she was the only contestant. She wasn’t competing for the hand of the handsome bachelor. In this game you won one night of passion with him and the take-home prize was a new life growing inside you. This wasn’t a happily-ever-after Cinderella story.

Except Gracie had found herself liking Derrick from the get-go; too much in fact. As the day went by she felt as if she had known him for years, like the old friend he was pretending to be. Something about him made her feel comfortable in a way she would never have expected from a man who spent his time with starlets and super models. Given enough time, she could easily find herself falling for him. That would never do. The next morning she determined that she would march up to Derrick and tell him it was time to do the deed. No more mincing around it, no more getting to know each other; time to get the job done, go home and get on with her life.

But when she came down to the kitchen the next morning, letting her nose lead her with the smells of cooking bacon and freshly baked bread, she found Derrick dressed and ready for the outdoors.

“Morning sunshine!” he greeted, bright eyed and bushy tailed even though it was only eight AM.

“I didn’t think you movie stars woke until after noon. Something about beauty rest?”

“Not me,” Derrick winked at her, “I don’t need it. Now grab some breakfast. I thought we could go for a ride. The view is great in the morning when the mist is just starting to rise off the mountains.”

Derrick’s positive attitude was contagious and Gracie couldn’t help but comply. Maybe she could tell him that they needed to get down to business
after
their trail ride. She ate quickly and soon she and Derrick were outside in the stable. The sun was on the rise and so was the temperature. The light frost that had settled in overnight was beginning to disappear as the golden glow fell on the landscape. It promised to be a beautiful day. Derrick led Gracie down the center aisle of a large barn, rows of stalls lining both sides. Horses from both sides whinnied their greeting to Derrick as he passed, as if asking to be chosen for the day’s adventure.

“Calypso will be a great horse for you,” said Derrick, stopping in front of the stall of a white horse with brown spots on her face and body. “She’s gentle and patient. Lex’s boys actually learned to ride on her. She does all the work for you, all you have to do is climb on.”

“Oh I know how to ride,” Gracie replied. “In fact, I practically grew up riding.”

“Really? You didn’t mention it before, you know, in the application.”

“There wasn’t a space for it,” Gracie smiled, “unless I skipped that page.”

“Tell me about it,” Derrick asked. “How’d you learn?”

Gracie thought back a moment. “After my parents died in the crash and my brothers and I moved to Carolina to live with Nana I was a pretty lost little girl. Everything I had known was gone, and I needed something to cling on to, something to occupy my mind. Nana had a friend who owned a farm. He boarded horses and taught lessons, and Nana thought that it would be the perfect thing for me. And she was right. Being around the horses made me feel comfortable and safe. And once I mastered riding - being able to control an animal ten times my size - I realized that I could be in control of my own life, I didn’t have to live in fear of the unpredictable fate that had taken my parents away.”

“Later, as I grew into my teens, I think that horses saved me from choosing the wrong paths. While a lot of other underprivileged black girls like me were out getting into all kinds of trouble- drugs, sex, things like that- I was all about horses. I would go straight from school to the farm.” Gracie began to giggle.

“What?”

“It’s just funny,” she said, “a lot of girls ended up pregnant before they hit twenty. But not me - I knew that if I held out, my equipment would be worth something someday.” They both burst into laughter, mostly at the absurdity of the whole situation.

Gracie decided to go with Calypso anyway; she was a friendly old girl and it had, admittedly, been awhile since Gracie had ridden. Derrick went with a spirited young mare named Angel Face, a name that belied her temperament. He said that she needed work and a long ride with the older mare would be good for her. Derrick also had been riding since he was a child, when the necessity to learn arose with a role in a sixteen hundreds-era movie. He found he enjoyed horses as much as Gracie did and had been riding ever since.

They took off across the flat grassland as the sun began to reach its high perch in the sky. Starting at a slow pace as Gracie reacquainted herself with the art of horsemanship, they soon found themselves racing across the open country, laughing and seeing who could reach the tree line fastest. They followed the foot of the mountain through a sparse evergreen forest and were soon miles from the ranch, isolated from civilization, just two lone people in the middle of the great Montana wilderness. Gracie never thought twice about the fact that she was all alone with what amounted to be a complete stranger. Something felt right about being alone with Derrick.

The rounded a bend and suddenly Angel Face reared up, prancing backward on her two hind legs. Derrick, who hadn’t been prepared for the animal’s sudden upset, lost his grip and tumbled onto the rocky ground. Before the mare could bolt, Gracie rode up beside her and grabbed the reins, making insistent soothing noises. There in the middle of the path lay a fat black snake, at least five feet in length. While Gracie’s seasoned horse wasn’t so easily startled by such things, it was clear that Angel Face still had some growing to do. The snake fixed them with its reptilian gaze, unfazed, and then casually lumbered away into the underbrush. After calming the horses and tying their leads to a nearby tree Gracie jumped down and rushed to Derrick’s side.

He lay sprawled on his back and Gracie could see he had been knocked unconscious when his head hit the hard-packed earth.
Great,
she thought,
I’ve killed one of the country’s most famous movie stars out in the middle of nowhere. This’ll look great in the tabloids.
She had no idea where they were and didn’t know the way back to go for help, that is if she wanted to leave him there on his own. Which she didn’t. It was the middle of the day, and the weather was good, but she didn’t know what kinds of animals lived out here. Knowing her luck, a bear could come and drag Derrick away while she was off looking for help.

Gracie leaned over Derrick and put her ear to his chest. She had learned CPR back in high school as a lifeguard at the community pool, but she didn’t know if this situation called for such a measure. His heart was still beating at a normal pace, and his breathing was normal. Carefully she lifted his head and checked for any signs of injury. There was no bleeding, and no open wounds to be found, though she could feel a small lump forming on the back of his skull. She checked his arms and collarbones for any sign of a break, then opened his coat to see if she could detect any damage to his torso or ribs. His body was tight, firm, and warm; she could feel the definition in each muscle as her hands moved over its surface. She wondered fleetingly if it was wrong to be enjoying the feel of his body while he was unconscious and possibly seriously injured. Her hands traveled lower on his abdomen when suddenly Derrick grabbed her wrist. She jumped, startled.

“Tickles,” said Derrick, opening one eye. “But I like where you’re going.”
              “I thought you were knocked out!” said Gracie, ready to do clock him one herself.

“I was,” Derrick groaned, attempting to sit up, “at first. But then I didn’t want to interrupt your examination so I kept quiet.” 

“I do happen to have life-saving training,” Gracie said haughtily, giving him a shove.

“I wouldn’t be surprised. You seem to be full of hidden talents.” Derrick winced as he slowly turned his head from side to side.

“Are you okay, though? Seriously, Derrick. You scared me.”

“I think I’ll be okay, though the damage to my pride may be irreparable. Stupid horse. What happened anyway?”

“There was a black snake in the path. I guess it spooked her. And stupid man, you mean. You should have been paying more attention,” Gracie chided. In nearly twenty years of riding she had never been bucked from a horse.

“Touché,” he replied. “When the other horses hear about this I’ll be the laughing stock of the stable, I’m sure.”

“Let me look at your eyes. I’d better check for a concussion.” Gracie leaned over Derrick, used her two fingers to hold open his lids and peered into his eye. No dilation, everything looked normal.

“How’s it look, doc?” Derrick asked.

“You’ll live,” she replied. “But we should…”

Before she could finish her sentence Derrick placed a hand behind her head and pulled her face to his. He kissed her deeply and she parted her lips in automatic response without thinking what she was doing. His mouth was warm and when he touched her lips with his tongue she opened wider to accept him. The kiss took her breath away and suddenly she forgot everything else. She forgot Derrick’s near-death fall; she forgot that they were in the middle of nowhere. Most importantly, she forgot that they had just met less than twenty-four hours ago. The kiss seemed to go on forever. Somehow she was on top of Derrick, straddling him as he lay in the rocky dirt. First his hands were on her face, and then they were wrapped around her waist, pulling her tight against him. She could feel the bulge of his urgency through his jeans and impulsively it made her press her hips into him. For a moment Gracie caught herself and pulled back.

“Wait,” she panted, “We shouldn’t do this. You’re hurt; you could have died.”

“I know,” replied Derrick, as breathless as she was, “and I just realized that I don’t want to die without having done this.” He got up and pulled her to her feet. “Wait just a minute.” Going over to the horses he pulled a colorful woven blanket from one of the saddlebags. Finding a grassier spot under the trees he spread the blanket on the ground. Going over to Gracie her took her by the hands and led her to the spot. “Now where were we?”

“I think we were about here,” Gracie said, tilting her chin up and wrapping her arms around Derrick’s neck. She planted her lips on his. As he kissed her, Derrick worked her out of her coat and unbuttoned her shirt. Her skin broke out in gooseflesh as the crisp air touched it, but she didn’t feel the cold. She felt like she was on fire. After shedding her coat and shirt, Derrick popped the clasp on her bra with expert quickness. Her breasts surged forward, nipples hard as diamonds against his exploring fingers.

In return she removed his jacket and shirt, feeling the ripples of his perfectly toned body. It had been awhile since she’d done this, but Gracie knew it was like riding a bike: you never forgot how. Like an old pro she unbuckled his belt one-handed and felt inside his jeans to find his erect penis waiting to be set free. She took it in her hand and stroked it, squeezing gently on the shaft. Derrick groaned with pleasure as he lowered her onto the blanket. Leaving her mouth for the moment, he let his lips trace a path down her neck and chest, stopping to suckle some warmth into each nipple and he undid her jeans and pulled them down so that she could kick out of them. His mouth traveled further down to find the secret spot between her legs. It stayed there until Gracie thought she might explode with pleasure. Urgently she spread her legs wider and pulled him up to her.

“Now,” she gasped.

Without hesitation, Derrick plunged inside her, where she was already hot and moist with anticipation. They both gasped with the pleasure of it, and Gracie knew that it had been a long time for him too. But there was no pain, only insurmountable pleasure as Derrick moved against her. Gracie lifted her hips to meet each thrust. She cried out as she came, a primal, animal sound of bliss. Normally she would have been more reserved, but not out here. Out here there was no one to hear her but the horses.

With the contractions of her orgasm, Derrick came in one final deep thrust. Gracie could feel the warm surge of his semen being released inside her. She sent up a quick prayer that it would find its mark. Though, honestly, she wouldn’t mind trying again if it didn’t. Derrick lowered his lips to hers and kissed her passionately as his seed made its way deep inside and the throbbing of his penis resided.

Afterward, they lay on the blanket side by side, enjoying the feel of one another’s bodies. The afternoon sun was warm on Gracie’s naked skin and a gentle breeze carried the smell of wildflowers.

“So do you think it worked?” Gracie asked finally.

“They say that the better the sex, the higher the chances of conception.”

“Oh really?”

“So if that’s true, I’d be surprised if it’s anything less than quadruplets.”

Gracie laughed and Derrick leaned over to kiss her again. His fingers lazily traced circles around her nipple and she could feel heat rising between her legs once again. 

“Of course,” she said coyly, “they also say that your chances are even greater if you try again immediately afterward.”

“Oh they do, do they?”

“That’s right. The all-knowing
them
.”